


Obsession for Men ~ by Aurora

by AngelBookofDaysModerator



Category: Angel: the Series
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Angel Book of Days Challenge, Gen, Season/Series 05
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-05-17
Updated: 2004-05-17
Packaged: 2017-10-31 17:54:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/346821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelBookofDaysModerator/pseuds/AngelBookofDaysModerator
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written by Aurora - posted on the author's behalf by the Angel Book of Days Moderator. </p><p>Timeline ~ Set in a few years time in an alternate reality</p>
            </blockquote>





	Obsession for Men ~ by Aurora

**Author's Note:**

  * For [inkandchocolate](https://archiveofourown.org/users/inkandchocolate/gifts).



It had come to Lindsey in a dream of what they had to do. It was going to be tricky but the possibility of it outweighed the risks. And the thought of Darla again brought back all his feelings for her, the good and the bad. Now, he had to get the others together to discuss the plan in more detail.

When they arrived for the meeting he talked first while the others listened to his points. The discussions were made and the arguments went back and forth until the decision was finally made.

It was Wesley who stepped forward to talk to him when the others had left.

"Are you sure that you know what you are doing Lindsey?" he asked.

"I'd like to think so. Repercussions of what we're planning will have cause and effect on everything. On every action that was taken after the event in question. All of this will change in a blink of an eye and the worst thing is not being aware of the changes."

"I've spoken to both Illyria and Connor and they are both prepared to help us by any means necessary for this mission."

"That's good as we'll need both of them for what we've planned to do."

The two of them stood unsure as to what to speak about next. They knew that whoever was to do this it would be to a great personal risk to a degree of uncertainty. The problem was that both of them were willing to sacrifice everything as there was nothing left for them here. At this point anyway.

"Lindsey, I wish to do this."

There, he had spoken it first. Said the words out loud for Lindsey to hear that would possibly mean his death.

"Any reason in particular you're wanting this Wesley? Is it to appease your guilty conscience bout something maybe?" gesturing toward Connor standing outside the glass window.

"Maybe, but I feel I am partly responsible for a few things that got pushed into motion. All I know is that the alternative cannot be worse than this. And I want to help to put it back onto the path we ideally should be on."

"But only if you are really certain. The risks that lie ahead are the ones we cannot anticipate or plan. You will have to be totally convincing if you need to explain it, heavy emphasis on if."

Wesley nodded in his acceptance of his role and duties that he now had to learn if he had any hope of performing well.

"Have you got the book detailing all information about Illyria?"

"That and" removing something else from his jacket "this information I've been gathering since the discovery of Illyria. Should be quite complete as I'm sure it will be needed for this mission."

"That's good Wesley, plus I also want you to talk to one of our tacticians about this mission. He's had a lot of field experience in matters like this and should be able to help you out in this case."

Lindsey handed a card over to Wesley who noticed the word "Riley" on it before it was placed in his pocket.

"I'll give him a call and let him know that you might be getting in touch with him. He owes me a favour and I'm going to be calling it in for this."

Wesley replaced his book in his jacket again and went to leave.

"How soon do you want to start this Lindsey?"

"Anytime, preferably if it started yesterday as I'm considering this to be very important. I want this up and running as quickly as possible Wesley, before the end of the week."

Lindsey sat down into his chair to think about what they were planning.

It was true that it had started with his dream but it had pointed him in a direction that he had not noticed before. And then when the tests he had run confirmed his thoughts it was too good an opportunity not to give it a try.

In his heart he had never stopped thinking about Darla and how she had been before she'd been turned. Holland had been assigning her to be looked after by someone at Wolfram and Hart he had requested the duty specifically. Lilah had been too nervous around her despite her bravado and Darla had knew that.

If his plan was to be successful it could change things and Lindsey wondered if there was a way that he could've been with Darla. God, he hoped he could if this worked out.

As much as it pained him to admit he spoke to Angel about this he knew that somewhere inside Darla had cared for him. Guilt overcame him as he thought he was the reason that Darla had become a vampire again. It was because he had insisted on it and sought out Drusilla to turn her.

What had been left wasn't the Darla he had known as a human. She had changed and yet a part of her must have remembered him. Why else would she have saved him? Darla had wanted to kill Lilah but Drusilla told her no. Lilah and Lindsey both had a destiny that they couldn't touch, not yet anyway.

Drusilla had been totally crazy but Darla had remembered she could see a possible path for the two of them. So the two of them were the only witnesses to the gory massacre of the other promising successful lawyers at Wolfram and Hart. Had even brought the two of them some notoriety in the firm but had mostly raised too many questions about their immediate future in the firm at that time.

As Lindsey sat in his office he remembered Darla being here before years ago. How the sunlight had hurt her eyes and destroying the mirrors as she didn't want to see her reflection. While she was still human.

From talking to Wesley he wished he had known her when she'd been pregnant with Connor. When she'd been a vampire and yet had some semblance of how she would've been as a human. How brave she'd been to bring Connor into this world knowing it would kill her.

Lindsey poured a drink and raised it to Darla and hoped she'd found redemption wherever she was now. Then he reached for the phone to make his call.

***

Wesley knew that there was a lot resting on him now to ensure that he carried out his mission successfully. Not that any of them would be aware of his actions if everything all went well.

The army guy he had spoken to for advice had been very successful. He'd never had a mission quite like Wesley had planned but a lot of the precautionary advice had been sound.

Wesley had been with Connor earlier that day. They had a bond that could not be described fully but Connor had been willing to aid him in his mission. It was anything to help out the team out of the mess they had got into.

Wesley was feeling guilty that he had forced things and knowing that Angel had eventually forgiven him did not make it any easier.

Just look at what he had tried to do for Connor at a terrible cost to himself and had not told anyone about it. Had isolated himself completely with the terrible knowledge of the past and nobody else had knew of it.

Illyria had been too accommodating at first until he realised the reason why. They had no followers or worshippers in this time and as much as they had tried to fit in it was not working. They wanted to be away from this more than anyone else even realised. So they had taught him about themselves and their past and Wesley had wrote as much as he could down telling Illyria that this knowledge was too valuable not to.

In a way he was glad he'd spoken so much to Illyria as he had wrote down a lot of information in his book. He checked again that all his equipment was accounted for and waited until the time was right.

It was now and he had to go start his mission before the chance was gone. Wesley walked up to the portal and stepped through and hoped he would succeed.

After all the whirling around and when his eyes could focus again Wesley could tell where he was. Back in the Wolfram and Hart office building and he hoped he was in time.

He got into the elevator and headed for his old office to research some things before he did anything. Wesley knew he needed to be careful as the timing was everything.

He slipped out of the elevator at his floor and moved quickly to his office and was quite pleased when he was uninterrupted on his journey.

Now if he was right about the time frame he was in he had spent these days drinking and calling Illyria a Smurf in his home. It was right after Fred (hurt to say her name still) had gone and he was still missing her quite terribly.

So his old office was at his disposal and if no-one saw he was free to check the archives. Felt strange to be back and using these resources again but it would be instrumental to presenting his case to Angel and in getting him to act quickly. Before it was too late.

Wesley spotted what he needed and wrote it down in his book and settled in for the afternoon until he got everything prepared. Until he spoke to Angel about all of this and hoped that he could convince him.

***

Angel heard the footsteps approaching the office thanks to his super hearing so he knew it was Wesley even before he looked up.

But when he looked up it wasn't quite the familiar face that he was used to seeing here at the office.

It was Wesley all right, smelled like him but yet it wasn't him. This Wesley could've gotten away with it if it had not been for one detail. A scar on his lip that he knew his Wesley didn't have.

"Wes?" he ventured "Is that you?"

"I am Angel. I am here to help you."

"But how can I believe it? I know your scent is Wesley but I need proof on this."

Wesley removed his book on Illyria and placed it on Angel's desk so he could read it. Angel skimmed through it before he spoke again.

"This must have taken you some time to write Wes."

"Try years Angel. It took me that long to track things down so that I could use them for this mission that I am on."

Angel whistled when he heard that but didn't doubt it. He could tell from the size of the book and the detail in it that it wasn't a rush job and Wesley always was thorough.

"I have used Illyria's stone from her sarcophagus, the one that controls time for this mission. My hope is I can convince you of what I plan to do, but your help would be greatly appreciated Angel."

"Give me one good reason to do this Wes."

"How about for Connor? If we do this mission you could grow up with him as you were supposed to do. Without my interference and that is part of the reason I wish to do this."

Angel was taken aback at the mention of Connor. How the hell did it factor into all of this?

"You see Angel, I know that you and Connor have just parted this afternoon and things were left unsaid. Connor sends a message. Sorry I didn't say anything Dad, I just needed time to think about things, about whom I am and what I'm supposed to be. Thanks for doing what you did to save me."

"Wow, that's a lot to take in. Tell me Wes, whose hare brained scheme, is this anyway?"

"It came from Lindsey. He was the one who came up with this and it has been well thought through from everyone. But the deciding factor has to be from you Angel. This is where the plans fall apart as we needed the Angel from this time to help us."

Angel laughed when he heard the idea had came from Lindsey.

"Why pick me Wes? What's so important about me?"

"We need you to prevent yourself from ever coming to Wolfram and Hart. This is the time when you regret it the most and you are clearly missing Connor as you have just seen him again. This is also when we have the access to Illyria's stone which is the other reason. I have this one from the future and you can use the one from now so we can both travel together to accomplish this."

Angel thought it over while sitting at his desk. This Wesley knew about Connor which not many where aware of, Connor and Wesley only found out today more about themselves that they weren't aware of. This was not information that was lightly thrown about.

"What do I need to know Wes?" he asked and Wesley was only too happy to tell him.

***

They spent the evening talking things through and Wesley drummed it into Angel of all the implications of what was being planned. As before timing was everything and they had to get their priorities right before they even acted on anything.

They worked on their plan and had it discussed so that they both knew what they were doing. When they were both satisfied with what they wanted to do they took a break.

It was a few minutes before either of them allowed it to sink in what they were doing. They were going back in time to change a past event that could have serious repercussions on their futures.

"Are you ready Angel? Time to go."

Angel held up his stone and nodded as a portal appeared in his office. He watched as Wesley stepped up and went through and then he followed after.

When Angel felt he had stopped spinning he tried focusing on something to see where he was. Wesley gave an indication not to speak and to check out where they were.

After a quick scout of the room they couldn't tell very much. It was a non-descriptive room that could have been anywhere at any time. It was only when they heard Lorne singing that they realised they had arrived at Caritas.

This was good as their plan had been to go to Caritas and wait for Darla to arrive. They both knew that this was the place she was going to be at and it was needed for their plan to work.

Wesley removed the goblet he had been carrying in the bag and set it onto the floor. Then he removed a flask and placed it beside the goblet. Angel watched as Wesley did this and then asked him what he was planning.

"As we discussed our plan is in two parts. First part is about to happen tonight and we need to get to Darla for it to happen."

"Then what do we do then?"

"Then we need to get to England to prevent Illyria from leaving and that should put us both on track to a better future."

They heard a commotion outside and realised it was Darla. They kept an eye from their door and noticed that she was being left alone for a while to rest. Angel and Wesley looked at each other and moved towards her door to see her.

She'd been hurt from earlier on and was sore and tired but glad of the company in her room.

When Angel looked at Darla he remembered how big she'd been towards the end of her pregnancy and how he'd forgotten it until he seen her again. She was also looking uncomfortable lying on the bed. He walked towards her to talk.

"Darla, I've brought you something to drink."

"Angel, don't you think you've done enough for me?" she said sarcastically.

"Wes, pass me that and I'll give to Darla."

Wesley handed the goblet to Angel and he had a good look at the contents of the container. All he could see was blood and he hoped it would be enough to entice Darla into drinking it.

Darla snatched the goblet and drank slowly from it. Within minutes the cut Angel had seen was removed in front of his eyes and Darla was looking fresh again. Then that's when she realised there had been something different about that blood.

"What have you two done to me? I can feel my heart beating and I don't like it" she shouted.

"Given you hopefully a fresh start on life Darla. Yes, I mean life not death for you."

Darla stared at the two of them shocked and staring at the goblet in her hand.

"Whose blood was that?"

Wesley walked over to where she was lying.

"Your child's blood Darla, it belonged to him and he freely gave it to you in the hope he would get to know you better."

"Son? How do you know that?"

"I am from the future and we discovered quite by accident that you and your son had a mystical link. Probably stemming from him being born to two vampires which were miraculous itself. We ran a few scenarios and I chose to go back and complete this mission. Think of it as a gift from Lindsey who has spent years regretting what he did to you against your will."

They could hear footsteps approaching and they knew that their time was limited with Darla.

"Look after yourself Darla and I'll see you both soon" said Angel as he followed Wesley out through one of the windows.

Down in the alley outside they stopped for just a moment.

"One job down, one to go Angel."

They left quickly before anyone could check outside and would see them. Now they had to go to England for the other part of their mission.

***

England hadn't really changed that much since his last visit Angel thought. People were still plentiful only this time he was staying away from them. Only his real last visit was with Spike in the private jet which unfortunately at this moment in time they didn't have.

Wesley had pulled some strings in getting flights over to England. Had sat and worked out which flight to get and when it got into London so that Angel wouldn't burst into flames. Advantage of travelling at night time but had to be careful as flying from LA to London. That direction took them into sunlight quicker if they weren't careful. The time zones moved forward going that direction.

This was the reason why Wesley had worked out his calculations. Wasn't impossible but like most things timing was everything. They didn't dare use Illyria's stones because they could move forward in time and everything could've changed. The next time they were being used would be to go home again.

The two of them got to the entrance and were stopped by someone. As soon as they said that they were there to prevent Illyria from leaving he escorted them to the sarcophagus.

Wesley and Angel stared at it for a long time lying there looking unimportant.

"Hard seeing it still here isn't Wes after knowing what it might do?"

"Indeed Angel. Now, if you don't mind I need quiet to perform the ritual which will bind this sarcophagus to this place. Both of us have seen the future of what happens when we are too late."

Angel watched as Wesley got himself ready to do the ritual and laid everything out like he did at Caritas. Then when he was ready he started the ritual which seemed to include a lot of Latin incantations.

When Wesley went quiet and seemed to relax Angel knew it was the end of it.

"Feel better now Wes?"

"Yes, now there is hope for our future now."

"Do you really think all of this will really make much of a difference Wes?"

"It has to. Most of our problems stemmed from these two main events. I left the amulet for Spike to find in a year or two and he should know what to do with it. Thankfully you and Buffy did not see much of each other at that time. I would have left the amulet with the Watcher's Council but as I know what happens to them I thought it prudent not to."

"Do you want to come back with me Wes and see how it is now?"

Wesley thought for a moment as he thought it over.

"No, I'd better not. I would run the risk of forgetting why I'm there and I would prefer to go directly back to my own time."

"It was good working with you Wes and I hope it's all worked out for you now."

"Thank you Angel and good luck for you as well."

Angel stepped up to the portal that had appeared and quickly went through before he changed his mind and felt the almost familiar spinning effect. When he got out at the other side he was in very familiar surroundings.

He was back in the foyer of the Hyperion hotel and could hear voices from one of the other rooms. There was Lindsey with Darla who was holding a squirming toddler that looked like baby Connor. Wes, Lorne and Gunn were there as well.

Then he noticed Cordelia and that's when he realised with Connor staying a baby Jasmine was never born. So Cordelia never died having her. Angel rushed to join his friends silently thanking Lindsey for sorting all this out as his memory of altered for this reality.

***

Wesley had watched Angel leave and then summoned his own portal so he could return home. When he got out at the other side Fred was waiting for him. This was his reason for doing all of this it was for Fred, to save her. As his memory altered he was glad he'd left his books in a safe place as he would look forward to reading them.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Inkandchocolate for the Angel Book of Days Spring Challenge. Prompt: Lindsey ~ Thoughts on love and obsession ~ No rape and no death
> 
> Author's notes ~ Have only seen up to 'Origin' so am unspoiled for the other 4 episodes. Want to thank Blondiebear17 for beta reading the story and helping in the creation of it.


End file.
